Grandiose Deceit
by LaughLikeTheJoker
Summary: Secrets. Lies. Death. Deceit. Just another day in lives of Nassau's well renowned pirates. How will they fare when a brother and sister enter the fold?
1. The Dream Thief

**a/n: so I know I'm kind of late to the party but I noticed there isn't a ton of fan fic in the black sails category, so I thought why not add one extra to the number. I hope you'll enjoy this fic, it's a little different but a good different I hope.**

* * *

The pirates of The Dream Thief had gained extra crew members in the last small town they had ported; a quaint colourful place with the only substantial means of trade being healing herbs and pretty flowers. But, it was the closest place they could find to repair heavy damage from collecting a large prize when Nassau-a pirates favored port and considered home when on land-proved to be too far away.

It was an unexpected accumulation for Captain Amadeo, he hadn't even had the need to go looking for new recruits as they had brought themselves to him; the girl and her brother and their four cloaked friends. He had been hesitant to take them on, they were dressed rough as usual of pirates, but there was something about the way they did so, with an arrangement of textiles and patterns that would have been otherwise considered rich had they been in better condition and not the sullied and torn standard that seemed as if it had been intentional. There was just something strange about them that led him to believe at first that they were luring him into a trap.

But the brother had a carefree smile, it was kinder than the steely colour of his eyes and he explained simply that they were stolen finds. Believable.

The girl had smiled even brighter, charming Captain Amadeo with eyes that changed from blue to grey to green in an instant and thick lashes that brushed against the tops of her cheeks as they fluttered. She had told the Captain that her brother was the best at finding special things, then her hand was stretching outward to show her rings fashioned from silver sculpted around slim fingers into the shape of metal claws.

And just like that they had charmed their way onto The Dream Thief and towards Nassau.

He needed skilled hands to replace his fallen friends and the boy and his four cloaked friends had proved to be equipped even better than the former each man worth 3 of the last men he had. They took to the seas like they had spent their whole lives upon them, tying knots and mending sails with an effortless efficiency. But the girl didn't prove quite so well adjusted.

* * *

Four days on the seas towards Nassau ports and they had decided indefinitley that the girl was to remain only on the lower decks.

When she frowned in dismay Amadeo had apologised, rubbing the scruff of his grey streaked beard on his neck as he explained to her that the crew thought a woman on board brought about ill omens and bad tides and despite her pretty face, he could not allow her needs above those of his crew.

Perhaps they wouldn't have minded the girl around if she had been more friendly, if she had sung and danced and laughed and flirted. And they had tried to get her to do all those things by attempting to coax her away from her brother with bottles of rum and whisky and a sea shanty and a lute, with high hopes of a kiss or something more. But she was different from the first impression she had bestowed upon them, she was cautious and introverted and quiet, she sat with her head held high and shoulders rolled back as if the weight of the world was sitting upon them. She was not the sort of woman they expected her to be and now-now she made them scared.

The third day on the tides was the last time she was allowed above deck, sitting on a crate with her head tilted to one side allowing the sunlight to bounce of the high bones in her cheeks, hands clasped and resting in her lap.

To the crew and their wild imaginations she had become some sort of stolen princess,-that was the story they had decided to come up with to explain the boy the girl and their circumstances, and it was the story they were going to preach in the tavern once they reached Nassau.

Her sun glazed skin was a stark contrast to the to the obviously paler colour of her brother, an odd thing that perhaps they would have dwelled on had they the opportunity. She had obviously been exposed to the outdoor climate, though the way she acted made her seem so out of place in such a setting, as if she belonged more in an expensive dress on a golden throne.

She was too well-mannered and shy to be some whore, and definitely was not a female pirate in their eyes when they thought back to what The Rangers Anne Bonny was like.

In their eyes the story they had fabricated made perfect, truthful sense.

The ship's bosun had become particularly enamored with her she realized, when he frequently made trips over to them to talk to her brother, stealing secret glances at her pouting mouth, and the curves of her silhouette through her clingy clothing and tight pants. The constant watchful sun was quick to dust her blemish free shoulders and face with faint freckles, making an unnoticeable white scar that sat across the hollow of her right cheek suddenly apparent. The bosun wondered how she had got it, but would never dare ask with fear of offending her. Sometimes she would meet his eyes when he looked at her and she would curve her mouth up into a slight smile that was innocent and bashful, and he would smile back before looking away, embarrassed at being caught.

Sudden shouts made everyone around them spring into action, a frantic alert in the air when they spotted a couple of ships that were just about visible on the horizon and intent on heading towards them.

Naval ships.

The bosun abandoned the girl and her brother to holler at members of the crew and then hollered back and forth until they were certain everyone and everything was in working order.

The girl and her brother shared a long look, an unspoken conversation playing between them in their light and dark eyes. A single nod finalized the conversation with eyes and the brother left the girl to see about aiding the crew, following behind one of his cloaked friends who had already started to help. He places a broad hand on the cloaked ones shoulder, leaning inward to whisper and then repeating the same gesture and message to the next one and the next, until all four cloaked men had heard the secret whisper. He finished by giving another look to his sister and gave her a nod and a look that said 'it's your turn'.

A sandy haired crew member approached the silent beauty, a boy compared to the rest of them and she put two and two together recognizing him as the fool in love with the girl from the flower shop on the last island. The rest of the crew were often teasing him for it. The poor thing.

Quickly crossing over to her he wanted to make sure she was alright, and assure her that there was no need to panic. But as he spoke, he noticed that she didn't, and he considered the fact that maybe she were mute before he remembered hearing her talk to the Captain and laugh like a gleeful child. He also noticed that she was distracted, head turned towards the heavens where the sky was a swirling spell of grey and black and purple.

A storm.

The sort of storm wasn't unheard of and especially not uncommon on the seas, but they usually arrived in the air in a pattern, one that could be spotted and avoided before it happened. This one though, this one had appeared out of nowhere. And that was rare.

Thunder rumbled and a loud boom tore open the sky sending ricochets of water falling. He hurriedly tried to get the girl below deck; since she had been on board they'd been crossed by the naval fleet, the quartermaster had taken ill due to a sudden strange fever, and now the storm; if they kept her above deck any longer he feared that she would bring about all of their demise.

The girl slipped off the crate and allowed him to take her arm, and they lifted up the other to shield their faces from the icy torrent that pelted them, soaking them to the bone in a matter of minutes. The sandy haired crew member noted as the sky blackened further, now the colour of midnight and he took some relief in the fact that a storm like this would mean the navy would be reluctant to follow them.

But there was one bold ship that made an attempt to give chase, despite the indefinite possibility of the ocean splintering the ship to pieces and killing every single soul on board.

"Fucking hell!"

One of the men had called out loudly and on her way to the lower deck the girl had halted, bringing the sandy haired pirate to a stop also.

She eyed the ship trying to tail them, then found the eyes of her brother and then the disheveled pirate holding her arm before tilting her head upwards towards the sky, her verdigris eyes now a shadowed cloud as they mirrored the stormy darkness.

And then it happened.

The air was charged, the sky morphed into scene fit for the underworld as the clouds turned pitch black, there was a rumble of thunder growing louder and louder as it traveled across the sky.

Lightening hits.

A silvery forked tongue created an earsplitting crack as it struck down their pursuer, the naval ship's mast splits in two and then the whole thing is ablaze, scorching red flames engulfing everything. The shouts and screams and wailing from the distance were muffled by the rain and the winds, and everyone on The Dream thief came to a momentary standstill.

They turned to the girl and then to the sky and back to the burning boat, but it is no longer on the tides, now consumed by the dark depths of the sea as it is taken to the underworld.

Witch is what some start to call her.

Others say a child of the sea gods, or a vengeful goddess. So they decide to hide her in a storage room giving her the company of a barrel of molasses and crates of mussels. The quicker they get her to Nassau and off the boat the better. She'd be Eleanor Guthrie's problem then.

She spends the rest of the journey skulking about the belly of the ship, counting the barrels and crates of goods, till she had memorized what was inside each and every one, then she would study the captains old logs and carefully copy his charts and maps to amuse herself. She was an excellent forger they had found out; able to produce pretty much an exact copy of a letter or brother had told them it was because she was a magnificent artist. she had beamed and blushed and refused the compliment.

Sometimes she would allow the bosun to take her to the kitchens, where she would help peel potatoes and stir soup. Her brother had popped his head around to see her the odd few times, and the two shared a knowing smirk and another nod.

There were rarely any words spoken between the two, the pirates had noticed; their conversations mainly consisted of nods and small gestures and eyes dancing back and forth.

"Patience, I haven't forgotten." She says to him when he lingers one time, completely calm despite the fact that her brothers features show urgency, pressing her to hurry before they retire to their jovial default and he smiles again.

He ruffles his sister's hair, sending the light brown waves spilling in front of her eyes and she glowers, tossing her head back so it falls away and behind her shoulders. When she looks up her brother is gone, and she goes back to chopping up herbs for the soup.

The closer they got to port, meant that Captain Amouteru became more reclusive. He kept to the Captain's quarters, sifting through his books and logs to make sure everything was accounted for. He often skipped eating meals with his crew, and plates and bowls made there way to him by hand of his now recovered quartermaster, or the girl when the crew decided it may do him some good to see a prettier face.

She picked up the bowl of broth intended for Amouteru as the other pirates sat themselves down in the ships' mess hall, and she eyes her brother and their cloaked friends intensely as they situate themselves in the four corners of the room. Her lips part in the smallest of movements, only a trained eye picking up the word 'now' as it silently fell from her mouth. Then she turned on her heels and headed to the captain's quarters.

* * *

Eventually The Dream Thief made land and the boy and the girl stood side by side leaning over the railing, watching as the coast of Nassau neared closer. The storm from the early days of their journey had long since been forgotten, a blistering heatwave, and clear calm blue skies were now at play.

Twin smirks marked both their faces, breaking into a pair of achieved smiles. They drew into harbor through a collection of bound sails and weathered masts. Upon captain's request the crew had worked the ship to stop with the ported ships of The Ranger and The Walrus within comfortable distance. Then once they were anchored, boats were lowered followed by a ladder, and the crew began to make way to the beach.

A welcome committee consisting of Eleanor Guthrie and several pirates were about the beach to greet The Dream Thief and it's crew, main reason being that it had been a long while since Captain Amouteru had ported in Nassau.

Eleanor Guthrie was quick to notice that the crew had took on some new faces, but among those faces and the faces she was familiar with there was one that was explicitly not present.

"Where the fucks your captain?"

She asked the throng of men, and a tall one, with large curling biceps and hair short and bluntly cut-so that longer strands stuck to his face and hung in front of a crystal blue eye- broke away from conversation with the man beside him.

He smiled a charming smile, wiping his sweat coated face with the shirt in his hand and he nodded at the woman in acknowledgement.

"That would be me. "

Murmurs from the already ported pirates that had came to welcome the Dream Thief had broke out at the news and with a furrowed brow Eleanor Guthrie planted her hands firmly on her hips, eyes narrowed and they darted over to the members of the crew, to the quartermaster with a question and she saw how they stiffened.

"What happened to Amadeo?"

She did not miss it as the crew bristled, mouths opening and gazes scattering uneasily among one another; at a loss for words or not willing to say.

"Well?"

The blonde woman pressed, before looking back to the so called new Captain accusedly.

"Poor thing succumbed to a snake bite."

A voice; lilting and feminine spoke up from the jolly boat that had just arrived with the remainder of The Dream Thief's crew, and Guthrie followed it with her deepening frown, hands fisting the fabric of her floral skirt.

A small figure jumped out of the jolly boat with a splash, joining the new captains side. Eleanor widened her eyes at the shock of it, her hair was braided intricately in layers, half of it down and starting to frizz from the heat, pulled away from her face which was so young, and she sported clothing that was certainly not standard dress for a woman.

Eleanor almost believed the sincerity to the girl's words, almost believed the story as such a cause of death had happened before to a poor unfortunate soul; but she had learned to study someone's character carefully and though the girl tried to hide her eyes, she had caught them before they had been turned away from her and she saw that unlike the warmth of her sad pout, they told a different story; they were cold and as black as the colour of her outfit.

Something about her was not right at all. She searched the reactions of the crew as they muttered agreements almost too quickly in response, and she watched carefully as one of the men passed the girl a tankard of water, which she accepted with a silver clawed hand and a shark toothed smile that made Eleanor shudder and the boy recoil.

The girl took a sip and held it towards the captain with an arched eyebrow.

"Brother?"

Eleanor's eyes widened again, brother? She scrutinised the two but could find no resemblance other than the colour of their eyes, but still then that was not exact. They had different noses, different eyes, different mouths, different builds; they couldn't possibly be truly related could they?

Or perhaps they could, maybe they only shared one parent and the other was the one that each had gained their separate looks from. Her lips pressed together in a firm unhappy line.

There were too many unwanted questions with unknown answers surrounding the girl and her brother. She didn't like it. But she had business to do so she sucked in a disgruntled breath and folded her arms over her corseted blouse.

"What do I call you then Captain?"

Despite her hard set features, the man smiled brightly still.

"Raz will do just fine."

"Well then Raz, you're new, but i suppose you know very well who i am yes?"

The new captain nodded.

"Good, then if you'd follow me to my office we can get down to business. You'll need to fill in a report of your captain's death, we'll look over the agreements I had in the past with Amadeo and then we will come to an accord so you can sell your prize, is that understood?"

Before the new captain could even speak, she had already began her way up the beach and to the main street, pausing and lifting a finger up in the air looking between him and his sister.

"Just you, she can stay with the crew and help them unload, Amadeo's lead was for a big prize so they'll need every hand they can get."

She watched as Raz and his sister exchanged a look and oddly the girl nodded, spinning around and marching off to join the rest of their crew to unload. It was odd how the brother didn't settle until the girl had reassured him, but for now she decided to overlook it, that was a matter for a different time.


	2. Durrani

Flints crew were the first to get to the sister.

Whereas the crew of The Ranger were all occupying themselves in the tavern or the brothel, the men of The Walrus were making their way back to their own ship. They were familiar with Amadeo and his crew, as Amadeo and Flint had been good friends and often spent time in the tavern laughing over old tales with a cup full of rum.

But neither of them knew about the brother and his sister and their four cloaked friends.

Flint had found it strange. Strange that Amadeo, a man who had apparently fought a wolf with his bare hands and survived many a circumstance that should have saw him dead, had so carelessly allowed a venomous snake to slip onto his ship and take his life.

He found it stranger still that the brother of the newcomers had assumed captaincy, especially when Amadeo had talked of his quartermaster filling the role when the time came. Or had it been part of the old man's plan to let everyone assume such a thing and then surprise them with something completely different?

Was Amadeo even dead? The Dream Thief hadn't even brought back a body, was he hiding away in some little town on a secret island planning something? The captain of The Dream Thief had always been one for elaborate schemes after all.

Whatever was going on, the sister and her brother were the ones centre to it all.

Since Eleanor had the brother cooped up in her office, the sister was there best source for information, and so he sent Billy Bones to suss her out. He was the best candidate for the role, people couldn't help but want to trust Billy; but unknown to them as of yet, the girl didn't trust anyone, and she didn't need to.

Billy watched her as she navigated crewmates with baskets and boxes and barrels to the different wagons that were going to be sent off to the Guthries. She hid herself from his sight for a moment, barricaded by the 4 men in cloaks and then she was suddenly visible, handing out a bottle for the men around her to share.

She suddenly turned and Billy froze wondering if he had been noticed through the throngs of pirates and women walking up and down the beach, but if she had seen him she made no move to indicate so, instead slinking through the sand to reach The Dream Thief's quartermaster.

Her voice was such a quiet whisper that Billy didn't hear as she spoke.

"Don't look away from me Alaric. It appears i'm being watched."

She tapped on the crate beside them with her clawed hand and flicked a finger subtly in Billy's direction.

"Tell me who is watching won't you?"

He looked uncertain but nodded, hoisting up the crate in his arms and crossing past Billy as he loaded onto a wagon. He stopped briefly to accept a bottle of rum from one of Noonan's girls before returning back to the captain's sister who was pretending to read a page of a book from one of the piles. She set the book down, walking through the cloaked members of the crew and taking the bottle of rum from Alaric as he handed it to her.

Billy frowned, straining his ears to try and listen to their conversation, but The Dream Thief crew suddenly interrupted into loud laughter making it impossible for him to do so.

"It's Billy Bones, of the Walrus."

The girl nodded, her expression thoughtful as she took a swig from the bottle, swirling the rum around in her mouth before swallowing.

"What about the other one? Is he one of Flint's dogs too or have I got a Ranger watching?"

At this the man looked bewildered. There was another?

Seeing the question in his eyes, the girl rolled hers.

"The man stood next to the whore you were talking to. His gaze keeps trailing over here."

She moved on not waiting for Alaric to take the time to remember who was beside the woman, approaching two other of her crewmates and suggesting that they start to pitch tents. When she turned away from them Alaric was beside her again.

"It was the cook, Flint's cook."

The girl nodded, waving him off and then they were back to work with idle chatter whilst she stayed silent, immersed in her thoughts. Why send two people to watch her? Was Flint that overly curious or was it because he had an inclination as to what they were here for?

She lifted her head, calling over one of her cloaked friends stood by a wagon, side-eyeing the cook as she did. She caught his look of curiosity, noticing it wasn't cautious but more surprised, intrigued.

She realised he hadn't been ordered by any Captain to keep watch over her, his curiosity had brought him to her of it's own volition. She took note of it and decided to deal with the other one instead, she'd find a use for him some other time.

Billy started to overhear chatter from The Dream Thief crew. They had almost finished loading up their haul and were eager to enjoy Nassau's pleasures, already muttering stories to the locals and the whores that had drifted to the sands to begin to pluck them away.

He heard how they boasted about escaping a naval fleet. Heard them tell that the Captain's sister had summoned a storm and set their enemy aflame with a simple gaze. He also heard their fear. She had quite the gentle appearance, soft features that would never make you think she would be capable of even swatting away a fly. But of course from her stories she was obviously a force to be reckoned with. Despite that, he couldn't help but jump forward to aid the lithe girl as she made to lift a barrel, worrying that her small lithe figure might break with the effort.

He realised what he had done as soon as he had moved; they had all seen him and they all knew he was watching. The four cloaked figures were suddenly surrounding the girl, who looked between Billy and then the four.

" I have this." She said, her tone casual but commanding, and he noticed as she lifted a hand and then lowered it, then the four dispersed. She resumed picking up the barrel. Hauling it up with hardly any effort at all, surprising Billy with her deceptive strength.

"I'm sure your Captain sent you over here to do more than stare at me for over an hour."

She hadn't even looked at him but she knew he had his attention from the grumble she heard.

"So you did see me." He muttered under his breath, folding his arms over his chest as she set the barrel down on the wagon and spun around, walking over to him with her hands clasped behind her back. Although she was much smaller than him, he couldn't help but notice how her presence seemed to tower over him, and he understood why her crewmates seemed to be so uneasy around her.

"You have honest eyes Billy Bones, I suppose that's why Flint sent you, most people seek to tell their deep dark secrets to someone whose soul speaks true. Unfortunately for you, I am not most people and my secrets I dare not let out."

His brow furrowed, mouth half open as if to speak, but he could find no words to respond with.

"Perhaps i'll tell you some small thing though, not a secret but a name."

Unlacing her fingers she lifted a hand in front of him.

"Durrani."

She allowed him to shake it with his features twisted into a confused expression, then swiftly slid her hand from his and took a step back, tilting her chin to meet his eyes with a warning.

"Do make sure you spy on me more discreetly next time, or else you won't find me so friendly."

Then she retired back to her crew, and Billy decided so should he, getting the feeling that there wouldn't be anything else he'd be getting from the girl.

* * *

John Silver had been watching the exchange between the girl and his crewmate with fascination. Upon hearing the arrival of a new crew, he had immediately set out on his own to familiarise himself with the faces and names of the people his captain had spoke of to determine who would prove themselves to be an ally or enemy. That and he was also as intrigued as anyone else about the brother and the sister. And the sister was certainly something. Such a something that he couldn't be quite sure whether he wanted to get closer or run further.

He saw her send a quick glance his way and knew she had seen him, seen Billy too. He had been debating on whether to give up his pretenses and just head over to her and speak to girl, when she had made her way over to Billy instead. Nevermind that then.

As he watched the encounter though, he realised that she hadn't approached Billy because she wanted his attention, but more so because she wanted to get rid of it, get rid of him and she did it in such a manner that was remarkably threatening but not so threatening all at the same time.

Because of this John Silver decided it was probably better to not approach the woman, at least not now in such an unguarded setting when she had all of her men around her and he had just himself, the tavern would be best fit to make conversation.

But as it seemed he wouldn't get a say in the matter as she started walking across the beach, hands clasped behind her back again, only this time she was walking straight towards him. He knew he should probably have made a quick exit, but didn't.

"Hello." He grinned, flashing an infectious white teethed smile as she stopped before him.

Her unsmiling features allowed them self to turn the corner of her lip upwards ever so slightly. Then she spoke.

"Do you know of anywhere I can get some candles?"

John Silver reared back blinking in bewilderment.

"Candles? You wish to talk to me about candles?"

The disappointment in his tone was so evident that it amused her, turning her smirk into a full flourished smile. She lifted a shoulder in a slight gesture and shrugged.

"I like candles. Now can you help me or not?" She had asked with a slightly quirked brow, though he hadn't noticed, his mind was still reeling from the unexpected request. He didn't know what he had expected her to say when she had decided to approach him, he had had several thoughts but had certainly not thought of candles.

"Candles?" He shook his head trying to make sense of it, was there something between the lines to be read perhaps?

It seemed she had lost patience waiting for an answer for him, as he suddenly became aware that she was walking towards one of the islands other inhabitants and started to ask them the same question. He wasn't about to let her go so simply though.

Slipping between the space between the woman and the Nassau resident, he slung an arm over her shoulder and steered her away, smiling brightly as she stiffened and rolled her shoulders back so his arm rolled off of her and fell back into place at his side.

"Ah candles yes, there's this old woman named Bertha in the marketplace, sells them along with incense and perfumes."

She regarded him with nod and a thank you, and he smiled again happily. Then he noticed some of her crew were carrying loads of candles and became exceedingly confused.

"Might I ask what it is you need so much candles for? Seems you have plenty already."

Her eyes danced dangerously, a glittering crystal colour under the bright sun, which made him immediate regret asking.

"Hardly, those candles are for the tents, I need some for my sundown blood sacrifice."

As Silvers' features dropped in horror and slight abhorrence, she laughed a pretty sound that stopped too soon as she made to leave him again.

"It was a joke." She threw the words over her shoulder as she walked, at the same time signalling Alaric who was holding a sheathed weapon in his hands.

Silver let out a relieved breath and followed after her trail.

She was unsheathing the weapon when he slid to her side, doing so dramatically in a sharp and aggressive movement so that the machete sliced through the air, then curled it around and through her fingers, preforming a show off fancy armwork, before spinning around and lifting up Silvers chin with the flat side of the word.

He gulped and she smiled innocently, as if she weren't holding a weapon uncomfortably close to his face and had just noticed his company.

"What is your name?" She asked lowering the machete to allow him to settle, then handed it to Alaric who sheathed the sword.

"i'll take it." She told him, dismissing him quickly with a tilt of her head, gesturing to another direction. Then she turned back to Silver who was watching her with one of his ever present smiles.

"John Silver, it's a pleasure." He introduced, grasping her hand and placing a kiss on the back of it.

Any other woman would have giggled or swooned over the gesture, but of course she didn't, pulling back, folding her arms behind her back and then regarding him with a pursed pout.

"You're quite charming aren't you." She spoke, more like she was making a statement of observation rather than a compliment, but not to be deterred he took it as the latter.

"I'd like to think so." He said with a wink and a lopsided grin.

"Much like a stray dog."

At her words his smile dropped and hers lifted up into a smirk. Then she left him standing alone in the sand, plucking a coat out of a cloaked crew members hand and informing the men that she was going to see her brother.

John Silver was stunned with a mixture of amusement and awe.

"Can't say a woman's used that one before."

* * *

 **a/n: Thanks to those who have reviewed, followed, favourited and read, you guys are the best!  
what did you think of this chapter? I hope I give you a little more insight into Duranni's personality and i hope you like her interactions with Billy and Silver. I tried my best to keep Silver in character so i hope that was conveyed too.  
We'll see The Ranger crew next chapter, i wonder if Vane finds Durrani as delightful as Silver does ;) **


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